BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil, September 3. DURING the penultimate day of competition at the Jose Finkel Trophy meet, a few close calls occurred when it came to near meet records. Meanwhile, Cesar Cielo had a strong day overall with a 100 free victory, top seed in the 50 fly, and a quick split in the relay.

Felipe Silva snatched the men's 50 breast title in 27.49, while Joao Gomes Jr. earned second in 27.62. Silva's meet record of 27.32 from 2009 withstood the attempts. Felipe Lima placed third in 28.25. Ana Carvalho clinched the women's 50 breast crown in 32.37, while Tatiana Sakemi placed second in 32.97. Beatriz Travalon grabbed third in 33.27.

Cielo just missed the meet record in the men's 100 free with a winning time of 49.06. That swim came up short of the 49.00 meet mark set by Nicholas Dos Santos in 2009. Joao Lucca touched second in 49.74, while Nicolas Oliveira earned third in 49.79. Larissa Oliveira topped the women's 100 free in 56.35, while Tatiana Barbosa placed second in 56.81.Graciele Hermann wound up third overall in 57.04.

Thiago Pereira cruised to victory in the men's 200 IM with a 2:00.76. Diogo Yabe turned in a second-place 2:03.72, while Renato Barufi claimed third in 2:04.19. Mireia Belmonte captured the women's 200 IM title in 2:15.89, while Joanna Maranhao picked up second in 2:18.07. Kim Vandenberg rounded out the top three in 2:20.88.

In semifinal action, Inge Dekker led the way in the women's 50 fly with a 27.16. Bruna Rocha (27.29) and Daniele Jesus (27.32) qualified second and third. Cesar Cielo, meanwhile, paced the men's 50 fly semifinal round with a 23.90.

Fabiola Molina cruised to the top seed with a 1:01.32 in the women's 100 back, while Daniel Orzechowski (56.39), Leonardo Guedes (56.50), Leonardo De Deus (56.54) and Gabriel Mangabeira (56.54) qualified 1-4 in the men's 100 back.